West Ham vs. Chelsea: Score, Reaction from 2016 EFL Cup Match

West Ham United moved into the quarter-finals of the 2016-17 EFL Cup after goals by Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes guided them to a 2-1 win over Chelsea at the London Stadium, where Gary Cahill bagged a stoppage-time consolation on Wednesday.

N'Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Cahill were the only players Blues manager Antonio Conte retained from the side that dominated Manchester United 4-0 on Sunday. Willian, Oscar, Michy Batshuayi and Nathaniel Chalobah were among the names forming a new-look midfield and attack.

Hammers chief Slaven Bilic made only two changes to the XI that edged Sunderland 1-0 on Saturday, dropping Simone Zaza and goalkeeper Adrian in favour of Aaron Cresswell and Darren Randolph, respectively.

It was feared the London derby could cause tensions to erupt, however, and BBC Sport's Richard Conway reported on the aggression that unfolded in the stands near the conclusion of West Ham's win:

Football Away Days shared footage:

The changes for both teams meant the London Stadium was in a state of suspense approaching kick-off, and West Ham came into the clash having assembled a three-match unbeaten streak at the opportune moment.

That momentum paid off dividends early, as Kouyate needed just 11 minutes to guide a superb header past Asmir Begovic from the edge of the box.

Goal.com Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella couldn't help but laud the effort:

The Senegal international met Mark Noble's incisive cross terrifically, and recalled John Terry was the one to blame for failing to keep the header out of his area.

Tactics have been a major talking point since Conte arrived at the Chelsea helm, but Squawka's Greg Johnson noticed the hosts were having more success through positioning in the first half:

Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio did their utmost to give West Ham options down the flanks, while Willian—back in the XI following an absence for personal reasons—looked dangerous for the visitors on occasion.

Batshuayi, on the other hand, was struggling to have any impact in place of the benched Diego Costa.

ESPN FC's Liam Twomey noted the Belgian couldn't find much fortune during his rare start:

West Ham nearly increased their lead before the break, but Begovic stopped Pedro Obiang's long-range stinger, getting down well to his right to block the effort on goal.

The Press Association's Matt McGeehan took note of the difference in pedigree between the two sides at the break, although that didn't stop West Ham from taking the game to their foes, seemingly comfortable with the underdog tag:

Chelsea ended the opening period with some sway in front of goal; however their restart failed to carry through that momentum, and it was only three minutes into the second period that West Ham doubled their lead.

Fernandes cut in from the right and evaded his markers before fizzing a left-footed strike past Begovic, and OptaJoe highlighted what a landmark finish it was for the 20-year-old Swiss:

Conte reacted to that strike not long after and threw on regular starters Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro in place of Batshuayi, Chalobah and the underwhelming Ola Aina.

The west Londoners' efforts in front of goal continued to amount to little, though, and Bilic had some impressive resources of his own to call upon. Sofiane Feghouli came on for goalscorer Fernandes, and Andre Ayew replaced Lanzini to bolster the attack.

The Hammers looked like they could add a third in the face of stern opposition, with Ayew unfortunate to steer a towering header wide of Begovic's net in the 82nd minute.

Regardless of the quality substitutes Chelsea had to call upon, a West Ham defence marshalled by Winston Reid, Kouyate and Angelo Ogbonna continued to deny the guests until late on, as Betway noted:

A Willian free-kick deep in injury time finally broke Randolph's clean sheet as Cahill bundled home, but it was a case of too little, too late as far as the away team were concerned.

After failing to concede a goal in their three matches prior to this outing, Conte's Chelsea can afford to feel particularly aggrieved with such a convincing defeat, while Bilic's West Ham finally look to be back on track.

The east Londoners travel to Everton on Sunday in their return to Premier League action, while Chelsea have a tough-looking away trip to Southampton on their hands on the same day.

Post-Match Reaction

IAN KINGTON/Getty Images

It was disappointing that controversy off the pitch should steal the headlines after what turned out to be a very entertaining London derby, and Bilic couldn't escape the drama in his post-match press conference.

However, the Croat bristled at the line of questioning relating to the fan trouble and took a stern stance against any form of fighting in the stands, per Squawka's Greg Johnson:

Cahill's late addition to the scoreline meant West Ham finished up one goal ahead, but Bilic told the media his side should have ended further ahead of their derby foes, per BBC Sport: "I can't say we were perfect but we had a plan and the guys executed it in a great way. We were good in defending as a unit. We were really good in keeping the ball and stretching them and playing wide. In the first half it was great and I think we deserved to be more than one up."

The EFL Cup quarter-final draw took place at the conclusion of Wednesday's fixture schedule, and Bilic wasn't pleased with pulling Manchester United in the last eight, per James Olley of the London Evening Standard:

Despite all the controversy that unfolded at the London Stadium, the Hammers boss did describe Wednesday's result as "a great game of football," per ESPN FC's Liam Twomey.